Character Sprites

[FlawedFlare]

When I first started working on VN's (which isn't too long ago), one of the major things I worked on was the sprites. This being the first time to work on a VN, I was extremely unorganized. To solve things, I decided to write my story to a certain point. Then as I reread it, I listed out which sprites to make.
So that was then and this is now. I'm working on a new one which involves more sprites. And now I'm wondering:

How do you guys deal with creating sprites?
Do you make one pose with several expressions or multiple poses?
How many do you make for just the main character? What about a generic character?

Extra question:
If you make sprites for fun/donation, how many expressions/poses do you make?

[nyaatrap]

I categorized sprites into 3: main, sub, mob.
Main sprites are used for 2~4 main characters in a game: Each has 2 poses (talking/fighting), 3~ costumes, 25 expressions.
Sub sprites are simplified version of main: Each has 1~2 poses, 1~2 costumes, 10 expressions.
Mob sprites are simplest ones: no variations.

25 expressions are combination of 6 eyebrows, 8 eyes, 6 mouth, plus blush and tears layers.

[Auro-Cyanide]

Ah... mine tend to be a bit based on my whims. BCM for instance started out with 5 sprites, 1 pose, 2 outfits. By the end the main 5 had 2 poses (arm movements) and 6 outfits each. The secondary sprites had 2 poses, 1 outfit and I had a cast of side sprites. Expressions are hard to count since I do the eyebrows, eyes, mouths and extras all on seperate layers, so technically there are hundreds, but we probably only use 20-25.

Because I did the RisAmo sprites in about a week, all 5 of them only got 1 pose and 2 outfits.

If I was doing them for fun, it would depend on what I felt like doing and what they were for *shrug*

[ShippoK]

One thing I usually do is think over is how the main character or characters are at the moment; At a boring day of School, Home on a stormy night, or at a steamy hot-spring~ Then, I think of how the mood is; Cheery, Depressing, Mello, etc. Then I just let everything flow with me and start drawing whatever I feel like. It probably isn't the best way, but making sprites tends to be the most exciting part of a Visual Novel for me so I don't mind!

I try to make each character their own sprite, even if they only have one to two scenes. I really only skipped over background characters but even then I sometimes make Silhouettes for them.

I'm lazy when it comes to different poses. I can make a character look different, but I tend to run out of ideas for poses after the 8th sprite I have made. At most, I make them put their arms up or down or even holding themselves during certain scenes.

I also give some alternative clothing to my characters, 1-2+ causal wear, 1 sleepwear,1-2+school wear, and 1+ anything else I feel like giving them. But not the side-characters, they get stuck with the same old stinky clothing every day.

Don't get me started on expressions. I end up spending too much time on expressions because I hate seeing the same face over and over. I have about (138) expressions for my main character (That's not included the alt costumes as well. I sometimes give them extra expressions when they change clothes.)

Copy pasting the same face but with more 'angrier eyebrows' is just dull, try to work around that habit guys.
(Don't worry, I'm a hypocrite. I make so much same-pose you wouldn't believe~)

Side characters tend to get only about (20-50) expressions. This is still quite a lot… No wonder I have so many .png files.

[SundownKid]

The expression thing is a good idea - my VN has 5 different poses for the major emotions (happy, sad, angry, surprised, serious) but it doesn't have any expression changes in individual poses. In a future VN, I would probably do a single extra expression per emotion pose (sneaky, embarrassed, confident, disgusted, annoyed), respectively. That... feels like pretty much all I need, besides special poses.

Clothes changes is also something I will probably integrate into my next VN, but considering the amount of poses it would only be a couple. Blinking would be a bit harder to do.

As personal preference, I dislike when the character pose doesn't change for emotions. Expressions alone just don't do it for me, it feels too static.

[nyaatrap]

I think expressions are actually, mostly coding issue more than drawing. I made a bit over loaded images and codes on my previous game. It took me longer time to code them more than drawing. So I ended up to using only organized 25 to speed up coding.

If you make sprites for fun/donation, how many expressions/poses do you make?

I won't to add extras to burden coders, so I don't make over 25. Poses can be more, but I'd draw Event CGs more than extra poses.

BTW, I'm categorizing expressions by eyebrows in my codes. Because eyebrows are the best parts emotions directory appear. You can fake eyes or mouth easily... but not eyebrows.

[mirelle]

When I first started working on VN's (which isn't too long ago), one of the major things I worked on was the sprites.
This being the first time to work on a VN, I was extremely unorganized. To solve things, I decided to write my story
to a certain point. Then as I reread it, I listed out which sprites to make.
So that was then and this is now. I'm working on a new one which involves more sprites. And now I'm wondering:

How do you guys deal with creating sprites?
Do you make one pose with several expressions or multiple poses?
How many do you make for just the main character? What about a generic character?

Extra question:
If you make sprites for fun/donation, how many expressions/poses do you make?

Hmm, first things first i would read the overall story to determine:

• Story Feel,
• Characterization
• Lighting.

And then the next thing is to determine the pose and expression which represents the character best in the major situations.
I avoid making too many expressions because it's burdening the colorist and the script programmer. Instead, I pick out a few
(6-7ish) expression that defines the character best and is flexible enough for the story. (I did end up with 20-ish drafts I need to choose
from though orz) I base this on the famous commercial VNs (Fate/Stay Night, Ar Tonelico...) which manage to show personality
and all that with just a few expressions. Too many expressions, in my opinion, will mix up characters together if they happen
to show the same ones and substract from the unique traits of each character.

Then I continue with 1 or 2 special pose(s) to further define the character.

For Main Characters, I tend to make 8-10 sprites. special effects like sweatdrop et cetera are slapped with ATL later on.
For the background ones, probably just 2/3. I'm that lazy.

For the donation part, it really depends on whether I have a grip of the story or not. If I do, I would make about 5 of them,
but if not... about 4. with generic expressions.

But this is an amateur's opinion, feel free to disregard it.

[Destiny]

Well, I always start with characters and story simultaneous.
The story can't evolve when it is missing the characters.
So I often write down the most important things about the needed characters first:

Name: XXXX (if the name has a meaning, then I add that in brackets)
Age: YY
Occupation: ZZ
Story: (short summary about relevance to story that can be edited over and over)

Then I begin with the summary of the story (often divided in chapters to keep track of the most important story parts).
I will work on the characters development and the story simultaneous until I'm satisfied with the outcome.

The final decision is only, which of the characters gets a sprite and how many different sprites (depending on importance).

But the standart is that I have around 10 characters and that 7 of them have 5-9 different sprites.
So I always know already what I get into by simply starting a project xD

[FlawedFlare]

Side characters tend to get only about (20-50) expressions. This is still quite a lot… No wonder I have so many .png files.

That, sir, is quite a lot. @____@

Back when I was just starting, I was working on a game where I already had 11 sprites (2 poses) total. This was probably about 3 minutes of gameplay already. Being new to Ren'Py at the time (I'm still fairly new to everything though), I was pretty stressed about it by the time I got to the second character sprite. As I mentioned earlier, I write the script out to a certain point while taking notes of what expression the character is feeling and when they feel it. Like so:

Code: Select all

    ##Show Girl+ Mc
    g "Grandma wanted me to tell you something."
    "\"What? The lady can't do it herself and sends her little messenger girl?\""
    g "Shut up!" ###Girl Irritated
    g "Grandma's just taking a break today."
    g "Anyway, she wanted me to ask you to buy her some groceries." ###Girl Normal
    "\"Yeah, yeah. Just leave the list on the table.\""

But I'm starting to think that this isn't going to be effective. Is it? I do like how everyone has their own limits in sprite expressions. (Look, I'm learning! ) So I'll keep in mind on how many sprites I can use.
But then, how do you guys know how many sprites/expressions are enough, too much, or too little?

[mirelle]

for me, in regards of influential characters, 4/5 is the bare minimum, 7-11 is just enough, 18+ is overwhelming o____o

[TrickWithAKnife]

I think expressions are actually, mostly coding issue more than drawing. I made a bit over loaded images and codes on my previous game. It took me longer time to code them more than drawing. So I ended up to using only organized 25 to speed up coding.

If you make sprites for fun/donation, how many expressions/poses do you make?

I won't to add extras to burden coders, so I don't make over 25. Poses can be more, but I'd draw Event CGs more than extra poses.

If the coders use compositing, it's not so bad. I'm very amateur when it comes to coding, but one of my two main characters has 13 expressions, 7 hairstyles, 13 jackets (including a business coast), 8 t-shirts, and 11 pairs of pants (including 2 suits).
For anyone doing the maths, 13 x 7 x 13 x 8 x 11 = 104,104 possible combinations.
I don't mind sharing the code, if anyone needs it.

[Anna]

How do you guys deal with creating sprites?
check the script and make a list of the expressions you need --> divide those expressions between poses that fit them (you could end up with 20 expressions for 5 poses) --> Design the character --> sketch all poses and expressions (in one .psd file) --> line-art all poses and expressions --> colour all of them.

Do you make one pose with several expressions or multiple poses?
Multiple poses, one feels too static. I often use four main expressions as a maximum for one pose and try to divide expressions which often appear after each other between different poses.

How many do you make for just the main character? What about a generic character?
There isn't a set amount. It depends on the script and their personality.

Extra question:
If you make sprites for fun/donation, how many expressions/poses do you make?
Not more than two poses at most (usually 1), because those eat time away. Expressions are quicker so usually between 6-10.

[EwanG]

If the coders use compositing, it's not so bad.

I presume by this you mean that you have a "blank" pose that you then just throw the new face on? Or at least that's how I've done before. As long as the head doesn't move too much this goes pretty quick - particularly since you can then just code the body in once, and flip out the expression.

Of course what I'd love to do (time, money, skill) is a full Disney thing where the whole body reflects the different moods. That of course gets you into real "fun" if you have two or three characters in a scene.

[TrickWithAKnife]

That's definitely one way to do it. In my case, the expression is part of the body. It comes down to personal preference.